By Joe Anuta
City Councilman Peter Vallone Jr. (D-Astoria) would encourage small business owners to help manage the city’s overflowing garbage cans should be become borough president next year.
The term-limited lawmaker, who is running against former state Assemblywoman Melinda Katz in the Democratic primary, announced his plan Monday along a commercial stretch of Northern Boulevard in Jackson Heights.
“While the city tries to get its act together, this is a way for responsible members of the community to step up,” he said.
Infrequent pickup schedules, high foot traffic and scofflaws who dump personal trash into the city’s street receptacles all contribute to overflowing refuse that then scatters around a neighborhood’s central business district — creating an unwelcoming environment for shoppers, he said.
Vallone hopes to curb the problem by capitalizing on a program already offered by the city Sanitation Department.
As part of the Adopt-a-Basket program, the department gives out extra garbage bags to businesses who want to give the city’s Strongest a helping hand by emptying bins when they are nearly full and putting in a fresh liner. The department also gives out contact information for a liaison to build closer ties with neighborhood stores. When the Sanitation truck rolls through the area, workers will pick up both the full bag and whatever is left in the can.
Vallone would use his post in Borough Hall to actively seek out businesses all over the borough to manage the cans, instead of waiting for them to apply to the department.
As an added incentive, he would fund plaques recognizing their efforts, which was encouraging news to restaurateur Chris Giannakas.
Giannakas, who owns a Greek spot called Ovelia in Astoria, said overflowing rubbish became a constant problem.
“The garbage would get blown right into the outdoor seating area,” he said. “My father unofficially started cleaning it up, but people should know who the responsible businesses are.”
Ultimately, a better solution would be more enforcement by the department for those who dump personal trash in the cans, according to the Astoria councilman.
Vallone was part of a trio of lawmakers who co-sponsored a bill to double the fines for putting personal junk in public cans — now he wants to double the fines again to a maximum of $200 for a first-time offense.
Reach reporter Joe Anuta by e-mail at januta@cnglocal.com or by phone at 718-260-4566.
